Ray, Goodman & Brown
Encyclopedia
Ray, Goodman & Brown is an American
R&B
vocal
group
. The group originated as The Moments, who formed in the mid-1960s and whose greatest successes came in the 1970s with hits including "Love on a Two-Way Street
", "Sexy Mama" and "Look at Me (I'm in Love)
". In 1979, for contractual reasons, they changed their name to Ray, Goodman & Brown, and had further hits including "Special Lady
". A lineup of The Moments, featuring original member Mark Greene, also tours.
in the mid 1960s. In 1965, at Washington D.C.'s Howard University, the Mizell Brothers
and Freddie Perren, along with schoolmate Toby Jackson, founded Hog Records and signed the harmony group the Moments. The Moments recorded "Baby I Want You" and "Pray For Me", under the Hog Records label. The lineup consisted of Eric Olfus, Sr., Richard Gross, and John Morgan. Mark Greene would later join the group after the Hog Records' 45 release. The group later signed to the newly established Stang Records label
set up by Sylvia Robinson
at All Platinum Studios in Englewood, New Jersey
, run by Sylvia and her husband, Joe. The group had their first hit almost immediately late in 1968 with "Not On The Outside", which reached #13 on the R&B chart and #57 on the Billboard Hot 100
with Greene handling lead vocal duties on the first chart hit. Robinson then hired the management firm headed by radio super stars, Frankie Crocker, Herb Hamlett and Eddie O'Jay. The trio started promoting the Moments on radio and booking them at live events in major cities. When Hamlett moved to WCMF in Rochester, New York
, he booked the Moments exclusively.
The first Stang album release by The Moments pictured Brown, Goodman and Morgan on the cover, though various members' voices existed on the different tracks recorded between 1968 and 1969. On certain tracks from the first album release there also appear to be some female voices augmenting the male voices. Though never positively confirmed, it is believed that Sylvia Robinson, herself a professional singer, supplied some of those parts, along with Stang artist Lezli Valentine and studio vocalist Rhetta Young. When members left or were replaced, it was less costly to recut only lead vocals on tracks already recorded, which in the case of The Moments earliest studio productions, makes it difficult to determine who is singing on the various tracks behind the lead voice. Before three of the original members of The Moments left All Platinum, they recorded their breakthrough song "Love On A Two Way Street," which reached 1 on the R&B chart and 3 on the pop chart in the spring of 1970. All Platinum also released a single recorded by Mark Greene, titled "My Confession of Love," with the flip side, "I'm So Lost" on the Stang label. The B-side track appeared as a filler song on the first Moments album (with Billy Brown's replacement lead vocal) in 1969, and was released as a single later that year but only saw moderate chart success. The group also released "My Confession of Love" under the name "Black Satin," with Crocker speaking the lyrics.
The group quickly scaled down to a trio after one live appearance at the Apollo Theater as a quartet(some sources credited Greene, Richard Gross (aka Richie Horsley) and John Morgan as comprising the trio lineup) but Greene, Olfus and Gross together left All Platinum in 1969, being replaced by baritone Al Goodman
and new lead tenor/baritone singer William "Billy" Brown while Morgan stayed on. Richard Gross was incorrectly credited as Richie Horsley on legal documents, liner notes, and now on websites, articles and in books about the Moments' history. Brown had previously been a member of The Broadways, who had recorded on the MGM
label. Goodman (after a couple of performing stints with The Corvettes and The Vipers) had been hired by Joe Robinson as a studio production creative assistant, singer and songwriter, and on records played the substitute role of 'Mickey' (as in Mickey & Sylvia
- of whom Sylvia Robinson was formerly one half).
After three of the four original members of The Moments had left All Platinum, Billy Brown rerecorded a new lead vocal track of "Love On A Two Way Street." The song had originally been recorded by Stang artist Lezli Valentine, but failed to chart and The Moments' version, produced by Sylvia Robinson, was originally included as a filler cut on the first LP (released in 1969) which was titled Not On The Outside...But On The Inside, Strong! Then, early in 1970, it was remixed and issued as a single and shot up on both the R&B and Pop charts - holding the #1 R&B spot for five weeks. The first album also contained a Moments version of another Lezli Valentine song titled "I Won't Do Anything" with Brown on lead vocals and it became the flip side of the hit single.
In 1971, Bert Keyes encouraged Mark Greene, Richard Gross, and Eric Olfus, Sr. to sign with Volt Records, a subsidiary of Stax
. Keyes had worked with the group at All Platinum Records as a producer, arranger and session keyboardist in the studio house band but left the label because of disputes with the Robinson's. The group signed with the Volt/Stax label as The Leaders and recorded in New York City. The Leaders had four members, Greene, Gross, Olfus, and Donald Spriggs. The group was managed by songwriter Myrna March, and Keyes produced several of the songs they recorded while at Volt/Stax label.
Prior to The Moments' #1 hit, but after the first album's release, John Morgan was also replaced, for a brief period, by Sylvia Robinson's brother-in-law, Johnny Moore (who appeared with Goodman and Brown on the cover of the group's 1970 second album). But when Moore was a no-show for a live appearance, since they were now considered as a new headlining musical attraction, he was fired and Goodman and Brown worked as a duo until new arrival Harry Ray rounded out the trio. This lineup became Sylvia Robinson's favorite and the one most heavily promoted by All Platinum. Ray took over lead vocalist duties for a while when Brown suffered a sore throat from vocal overexertion, and Ray was the lead voice on many of The Moments' subsequent hits, including the follow-up "If I Didn’t Care" (#7 R&B, #44 pop, 1970), "Sexy Mama" (#3 R&B, #17 pop, 1973), and "Look At Me (I'm In Love)" (#1 R&B, #39 pop, 1975). After Brown recovered, they shared lead vocal duties and occasionally even Goodman took his turn in the lead, as well as serving as spokesman for the group. The album titled "The Moments On Top" was rush released as soon as Brown's voice recovered and was the first album where Harry Ray was pictured on the cover with Goodman and Brown. The album titled "A Moment With The Moments" that showed Goodman, Brown and Johnny Moore on the cover was hastily pasted together and released while Brown was still recovering, with the label release numbers running out of sequence, to support the single "If I Didn't Care" in 1970, which was the first Moments lead vocal for Ray, and the only track on the album where Ray's voice appeared. Another remix of "Love On A Two Way Street" was included but the rest of the album consisted of tracks recorded before Brown's illness that were mainly "B" sides from earlier Moments singles releases and Moore was actually gone by the time the album hit the charts. After Brown's voice had returned, Stang began releasing singles from the 'On Top' album with Ray and Brown splitting lead vocals between most of the tracks. Ray also recorded a duet
with Sylvia Robinson, "Sho Nuff Boogie" (billed as Sylvia and the Moments) in 1973.
The Moments were also co-credited with labelmates The Whatnauts
on their hit "Girls (Part 1)," which only made #25 on the U.S. R&B charts, but became one of their biggest international successes, reaching #3 on the UK Singles Chart
in 1975. Harry Ray and Al Goodman were also strongly involved in writing and producing much of The Moments material from the mid 1970s as well as performing production and writing duties for The Whatnauts and All-Platinum's other artists.
By 1979, the group had had a total of 27 R&B chart hits, but decided to leave Stang to advance their creative efforts even further and signed with the larger Polydor Records
label. However, a legal dispute arose barring them from using the name The Moments on their new label, so they renamed the group combining their last names: Ray, Goodman & Brown.
", became one of their biggest hits, reaching #1 on the R&B chart and #5 on the pop chart in early 1980. The B-side featured “Déjà Vu” with title and lyrics by Bob Natiello and music by Lou Toby. They followed it up with a succession of further hits, including "Inside Of You" (#14 R&B, 1980). In 1982, following the release of their fourth and final album for Polydor, Ray left the group for a solo career. He rejoined Sylvia and Joe Robinson at their new venture, Sugar Hill Records, but after one album and a minor hit, "Sweet Baby," he returned to the group for its comeback on EMI
with the ballad "Take It To the Limit" which put them back on the charts (#8 R&B, 1987).
In 1991, Harold "Eban" Brown, a former vocalist for The Delfonics
, became the lead vocalist for Ray, Goodman & Brown. He performed with the group for two and a half years before becoming a member of The Manhattans
. He is currently the lead vocalist for The Stylistics
.
Ray suffered a fatal stroke
in 1992 and was replaced in the group by Kevin "Ray" Owens, who was a backing vocalist
for Luther Vandross
and had taken Ray's place when he had split from the group in the 1980s. Occasionally, solo artist Greg Willis joined with Ray, Goodman and Brown in performances and later, on records, but never became a full-time member. Vocalist Wade 'Smokey' Elliot also did a stint with the group, before signing a solo contract with CBS Records in the 1990s. With the return of Kevin "Ray" Owens, the trio continued to perform and tour as Ray, Goodman & Brown and released two albums in 2002 and 2003, one with new material and the other featuring re-workings of soul songs by other male vocal groups. These albums reunited them with former All-Platinum producer George Kerr and in one of their public appearances they teamed with Gerald Alston to perform The Manhattans' hit "Kiss And Say Goodbye". They sang backup vocals on the Alicia Keys
' song "You Don't Know My Name," which was a number 1 soul/R&B song in 2003. As of 2008, Kevin "Ray" Owens, Al Goodman and Billy Brown were continuing to record together, and tour (sometimes combined with added vocalist Larry 'Ice' Winfree), performing hits from both periods of their careers as The Moments and as Ray, Goodman and Brown. On July 27, 2010, Goodman died at the age of 67.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
vocal
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
group
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
. The group originated as The Moments, who formed in the mid-1960s and whose greatest successes came in the 1970s with hits including "Love on a Two-Way Street
Love on a Two-Way Street
"Love on a Two-Way Street" is a Soul ballad written by Sylvia Robinson and Bert Keyes in 1968. The song was originally recorded by Lezli Valentine, an artist signed to All Platinum, the record label that Sylvia Robinson co-owned with her husband, Joe...
", "Sexy Mama" and "Look at Me (I'm in Love)
Look at Me (I'm in Love)
"Look at Me " is a 1975 single by The Moments. In the United States, the single went to number one on the soul chart for one week and peaked at number thirty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100. According to the liner notes of The Moments' Greatest Hits album, the song's origins are in a conversation...
". In 1979, for contractual reasons, they changed their name to Ray, Goodman & Brown, and had further hits including "Special Lady
Special Lady (Ray, Goodman & Brown song)
"Special Lady" is a 1979 single by vocal trio Ray, Goodman & Brown, formerly known as The Moments. In the U.S., it was a number one R&B hit and reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100. The single marked their first release under the name Ray, Goodman & Brown. The song was written by Harry...
". A lineup of The Moments, featuring original member Mark Greene, also tours.
The original group
Much of the confusion concerning the group's history came about due to information being tailored by their record label to promote the group in what became its definitive lineup. The original members of The Moments were Mark Greene, Eric Olfus, Sr., Richard Gross, and John Morgan. The group formed in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
in the mid 1960s. In 1965, at Washington D.C.'s Howard University, the Mizell Brothers
Mizell Brothers
The Mizell Brothers were a record producing team in the 1970s, consisting of Larry Mizell and Alphonso "Fonce" Mizell .-History:...
and Freddie Perren, along with schoolmate Toby Jackson, founded Hog Records and signed the harmony group the Moments. The Moments recorded "Baby I Want You" and "Pray For Me", under the Hog Records label. The lineup consisted of Eric Olfus, Sr., Richard Gross, and John Morgan. Mark Greene would later join the group after the Hog Records' 45 release. The group later signed to the newly established Stang Records label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
set up by Sylvia Robinson
Sylvia Robinson
Sylvia Robinson was an American singer, musician, record producer, and record label executive, most notably known for her work as founder/CEO of the hip hop label Sugar Hill Records. She is credited as the driving force behind two landmark singles in the genre...
at All Platinum Studios in Englewood, New Jersey
Englewood, New Jersey
Englewood is a city located in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 27,147.Englewood was incorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of...
, run by Sylvia and her husband, Joe. The group had their first hit almost immediately late in 1968 with "Not On The Outside", which reached #13 on the R&B chart and #57 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
with Greene handling lead vocal duties on the first chart hit. Robinson then hired the management firm headed by radio super stars, Frankie Crocker, Herb Hamlett and Eddie O'Jay. The trio started promoting the Moments on radio and booking them at live events in major cities. When Hamlett moved to WCMF in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, he booked the Moments exclusively.
The first Stang album release by The Moments pictured Brown, Goodman and Morgan on the cover, though various members' voices existed on the different tracks recorded between 1968 and 1969. On certain tracks from the first album release there also appear to be some female voices augmenting the male voices. Though never positively confirmed, it is believed that Sylvia Robinson, herself a professional singer, supplied some of those parts, along with Stang artist Lezli Valentine and studio vocalist Rhetta Young. When members left or were replaced, it was less costly to recut only lead vocals on tracks already recorded, which in the case of The Moments earliest studio productions, makes it difficult to determine who is singing on the various tracks behind the lead voice. Before three of the original members of The Moments left All Platinum, they recorded their breakthrough song "Love On A Two Way Street," which reached 1 on the R&B chart and 3 on the pop chart in the spring of 1970. All Platinum also released a single recorded by Mark Greene, titled "My Confession of Love," with the flip side, "I'm So Lost" on the Stang label. The B-side track appeared as a filler song on the first Moments album (with Billy Brown's replacement lead vocal) in 1969, and was released as a single later that year but only saw moderate chart success. The group also released "My Confession of Love" under the name "Black Satin," with Crocker speaking the lyrics.
The group quickly scaled down to a trio after one live appearance at the Apollo Theater as a quartet(some sources credited Greene, Richard Gross (aka Richie Horsley) and John Morgan as comprising the trio lineup) but Greene, Olfus and Gross together left All Platinum in 1969, being replaced by baritone Al Goodman
Al Goodman (singer)
Willie Albert "Al" Goodman was an American singer who performed as part of the musical trio Ray, Goodman & Brown, a group that was earlier called The Moments and was known for their songs "Love on a Two-Way Street", "Sexy Mama" and "Look at Me " as The Moments and later, "Special Lady" after...
and new lead tenor/baritone singer William "Billy" Brown while Morgan stayed on. Richard Gross was incorrectly credited as Richie Horsley on legal documents, liner notes, and now on websites, articles and in books about the Moments' history. Brown had previously been a member of The Broadways, who had recorded on the MGM
MGM Records
MGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946, for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films. Later it became a pop label, lasting into the 1970s...
label. Goodman (after a couple of performing stints with The Corvettes and The Vipers) had been hired by Joe Robinson as a studio production creative assistant, singer and songwriter, and on records played the substitute role of 'Mickey' (as in Mickey & Sylvia
Mickey & Sylvia
Mickey & Sylvia was an American R&B duo, composed of Mickey Baker and Sylvia Robinson. They were the first big seller for Groove Records.Mickey was a music instructor and Sylvia one of his pupils. Baker was inspired to form the group by the success of Les Paul & Mary Ford. They had a Top 20 hit...
- of whom Sylvia Robinson was formerly one half).
After three of the four original members of The Moments had left All Platinum, Billy Brown rerecorded a new lead vocal track of "Love On A Two Way Street." The song had originally been recorded by Stang artist Lezli Valentine, but failed to chart and The Moments' version, produced by Sylvia Robinson, was originally included as a filler cut on the first LP (released in 1969) which was titled Not On The Outside...But On The Inside, Strong! Then, early in 1970, it was remixed and issued as a single and shot up on both the R&B and Pop charts - holding the #1 R&B spot for five weeks. The first album also contained a Moments version of another Lezli Valentine song titled "I Won't Do Anything" with Brown on lead vocals and it became the flip side of the hit single.
In 1971, Bert Keyes encouraged Mark Greene, Richard Gross, and Eric Olfus, Sr. to sign with Volt Records, a subsidiary of Stax
Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...
. Keyes had worked with the group at All Platinum Records as a producer, arranger and session keyboardist in the studio house band but left the label because of disputes with the Robinson's. The group signed with the Volt/Stax label as The Leaders and recorded in New York City. The Leaders had four members, Greene, Gross, Olfus, and Donald Spriggs. The group was managed by songwriter Myrna March, and Keyes produced several of the songs they recorded while at Volt/Stax label.
Prior to The Moments' #1 hit, but after the first album's release, John Morgan was also replaced, for a brief period, by Sylvia Robinson's brother-in-law, Johnny Moore (who appeared with Goodman and Brown on the cover of the group's 1970 second album). But when Moore was a no-show for a live appearance, since they were now considered as a new headlining musical attraction, he was fired and Goodman and Brown worked as a duo until new arrival Harry Ray rounded out the trio. This lineup became Sylvia Robinson's favorite and the one most heavily promoted by All Platinum. Ray took over lead vocalist duties for a while when Brown suffered a sore throat from vocal overexertion, and Ray was the lead voice on many of The Moments' subsequent hits, including the follow-up "If I Didn’t Care" (#7 R&B, #44 pop, 1970), "Sexy Mama" (#3 R&B, #17 pop, 1973), and "Look At Me (I'm In Love)" (#1 R&B, #39 pop, 1975). After Brown recovered, they shared lead vocal duties and occasionally even Goodman took his turn in the lead, as well as serving as spokesman for the group. The album titled "The Moments On Top" was rush released as soon as Brown's voice recovered and was the first album where Harry Ray was pictured on the cover with Goodman and Brown. The album titled "A Moment With The Moments" that showed Goodman, Brown and Johnny Moore on the cover was hastily pasted together and released while Brown was still recovering, with the label release numbers running out of sequence, to support the single "If I Didn't Care" in 1970, which was the first Moments lead vocal for Ray, and the only track on the album where Ray's voice appeared. Another remix of "Love On A Two Way Street" was included but the rest of the album consisted of tracks recorded before Brown's illness that were mainly "B" sides from earlier Moments singles releases and Moore was actually gone by the time the album hit the charts. After Brown's voice had returned, Stang began releasing singles from the 'On Top' album with Ray and Brown splitting lead vocals between most of the tracks. Ray also recorded a duet
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
with Sylvia Robinson, "Sho Nuff Boogie" (billed as Sylvia and the Moments) in 1973.
The Moments were also co-credited with labelmates The Whatnauts
The Whatnauts
The Whatnauts were an American soul group from Baltimore, Maryland founded in 1969. The group had several hit singles in the early 1970s, including the socially conscious single "Message From A Black Man" in 1970 on A&I International, "Please Make The Love Go Away" also in 1970 but on Stang, and...
on their hit "Girls (Part 1)," which only made #25 on the U.S. R&B charts, but became one of their biggest international successes, reaching #3 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in 1975. Harry Ray and Al Goodman were also strongly involved in writing and producing much of The Moments material from the mid 1970s as well as performing production and writing duties for The Whatnauts and All-Platinum's other artists.
By 1979, the group had had a total of 27 R&B chart hits, but decided to leave Stang to advance their creative efforts even further and signed with the larger Polydor Records
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
label. However, a legal dispute arose barring them from using the name The Moments on their new label, so they renamed the group combining their last names: Ray, Goodman & Brown.
Ray, Goodman & Brown
The first single under their new name, "Special LadySpecial Lady (Ray, Goodman & Brown song)
"Special Lady" is a 1979 single by vocal trio Ray, Goodman & Brown, formerly known as The Moments. In the U.S., it was a number one R&B hit and reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100. The single marked their first release under the name Ray, Goodman & Brown. The song was written by Harry...
", became one of their biggest hits, reaching #1 on the R&B chart and #5 on the pop chart in early 1980. The B-side featured “Déjà Vu” with title and lyrics by Bob Natiello and music by Lou Toby. They followed it up with a succession of further hits, including "Inside Of You" (#14 R&B, 1980). In 1982, following the release of their fourth and final album for Polydor, Ray left the group for a solo career. He rejoined Sylvia and Joe Robinson at their new venture, Sugar Hill Records, but after one album and a minor hit, "Sweet Baby," he returned to the group for its comeback on EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
with the ballad "Take It To the Limit" which put them back on the charts (#8 R&B, 1987).
In 1991, Harold "Eban" Brown, a former vocalist for The Delfonics
The Delfonics
The Delfonics are a pioneering Philadelphia soul singing group, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Their most notable hits include "La-La ", "Didn't I ", "Break Your Promise," "I'm Sorry," and "Ready or Not Here I Come "...
, became the lead vocalist for Ray, Goodman & Brown. He performed with the group for two and a half years before becoming a member of The Manhattans
The Manhattans
The Manhattans are an American popular R&B vocal group, with a string of hit records spanning four decades. Their best known million-selling songs being "Kiss and Say Goodbye" and 'Shining Star' in 1980...
. He is currently the lead vocalist for The Stylistics
The Stylistics
The Stylistics are a soul music vocal group, and were one of the best-known Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s. They formed in 1968, and were composed of lead Russell Thompkins, Jr., Herbie Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith, and James Dunn. All of their US hits were ballads, graced by the...
.
Ray suffered a fatal stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
in 1992 and was replaced in the group by Kevin "Ray" Owens, who was a backing vocalist
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
for Luther Vandross
Luther Vandross
Luther Ronzoni Vandross was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times...
and had taken Ray's place when he had split from the group in the 1980s. Occasionally, solo artist Greg Willis joined with Ray, Goodman and Brown in performances and later, on records, but never became a full-time member. Vocalist Wade 'Smokey' Elliot also did a stint with the group, before signing a solo contract with CBS Records in the 1990s. With the return of Kevin "Ray" Owens, the trio continued to perform and tour as Ray, Goodman & Brown and released two albums in 2002 and 2003, one with new material and the other featuring re-workings of soul songs by other male vocal groups. These albums reunited them with former All-Platinum producer George Kerr and in one of their public appearances they teamed with Gerald Alston to perform The Manhattans' hit "Kiss And Say Goodbye". They sang backup vocals on the Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...
' song "You Don't Know My Name," which was a number 1 soul/R&B song in 2003. As of 2008, Kevin "Ray" Owens, Al Goodman and Billy Brown were continuing to record together, and tour (sometimes combined with added vocalist Larry 'Ice' Winfree), performing hits from both periods of their careers as The Moments and as Ray, Goodman and Brown. On July 27, 2010, Goodman died at the age of 67.
The Moments featuring Mark Greene
Mark Greene was called back to join the renamed group of Ray, Goodman & Brown; however, he declined, claiming that no royalties were ever paid to him. His personal website contains most of the information about the original group; the founding members, and a photograph of the quartet lineup before Sylvia began reorganizing the act on the heels of their first chart hit. He released a self-produced CD project titled Love Is More Than Spoken on the FAJR label. There was also a CD release on FAJR titled "Unspoken Moments" by The Moments featuring Mark Greene that pictured Greene, Johnny Moore and Richard Gross aka Horsley on the cover. Greene later acquired the official legal trademark of The Moments name. Now known as The Moments featuring Mark Greene, they continue to record, perform and tour. New members of the group are Solomon Cunningham and Loren Brown.Studio albums
| Year | Album | Chart positions | Record label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US R&B Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
||||
| 1969 | Not on the Outside, But on the Inside, Strong! | — | 8 | Stang All Platinum Records All Platinum Records was one of the labels which was started by Sylvia Robinson before she started Sugar Hill Records.All Platinum purchased Chess Records in the early 1970s after the latter fell into bankruptcy; however, All Platinum was a much smaller label and was unable to keep releasing steady... |
|
| 1970 | On Top | — | — | ||
| A Moment with the Moments | — | 36 | |||
| 1972 | The Other Side of the Moments | — | — | ||
| 1974 | My Thing | — | — | ||
| Those Sexy Moments | — | — | |||
| 1975 | Look at Me | 132 | 13 | ||
| 1977 | Moments with You | — | 40 | ||
| 1978 | Sharp | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes the album failed to chart | |||||
Collaboration albums
| Year | Album | Chart positions | Record label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US R&B Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
||||
| 1974 | O'Jays The O'Jays The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1963 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert , Walter Williams , William Powell , Bobby Massey and Bill Isles. The O'Jays were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005... Meet the Moments |
— | — | Stang All Platinum Records All Platinum Records was one of the labels which was started by Sylvia Robinson before she started Sugar Hill Records.All Platinum purchased Chess Records in the early 1970s after the latter fell into bankruptcy; however, All Platinum was a much smaller label and was unable to keep releasing steady... |
|
| "—" denotes the album failed to chart | |||||
Live albums
| Year | Album | Chart positions | Record label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US R&B Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
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| 1972 | Live at the New York State Women's Prison | 147 | 25 | Stang All Platinum Records All Platinum Records was one of the labels which was started by Sylvia Robinson before she started Sugar Hill Records.All Platinum purchased Chess Records in the early 1970s after the latter fell into bankruptcy; however, All Platinum was a much smaller label and was unable to keep releasing steady... |
|
| 1974 | Live at the Miss Black America Contest | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes the album failed to chart | |||||
Compilation albums
| Year | Album | Chart positions | Record label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US R&B Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
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| 1971 | The Moments Greatest Hits | 184 | 24 | Stang All Platinum Records All Platinum Records was one of the labels which was started by Sylvia Robinson before she started Sugar Hill Records.All Platinum purchased Chess Records in the early 1970s after the latter fell into bankruptcy; however, All Platinum was a much smaller label and was unable to keep releasing steady... |
|
| 1974 | The Best of the Moments | — | 23 | ||
| 1984 | Greatest Hits of the Moments | — | — | Chess Chess Records Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases.... |
|
| 1996 | The Best of the Moments: Love on a Two-Way Street | — | — | Rhino | |
| "—" denotes the album failed to chart | |||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US R&B Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
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| 1968 | "Not on the Outside" | 57 | 13 | — |
| 1969 | "Sunday" | 90 | 13 | — |
| "I Do" | 62 | 10 | — | |
| "I'm So Lost" | — | 43 | — | |
| "Lovely Way She Loves" | 120 | 14 | — | |
| 1970 | "Love on a Two-Way Street Love on a Two-Way Street "Love on a Two-Way Street" is a Soul ballad written by Sylvia Robinson and Bert Keyes in 1968. The song was originally recorded by Lezli Valentine, an artist signed to All Platinum, the record label that Sylvia Robinson co-owned with her husband, Joe... " |
3 | 1 | — |
| "If I Didn't Care" | 44 | 7 | — | |
| "All I Have" | 56 | 9 | — | |
| 1971 | "I Can't Help It" | 108 | 27 | — |
| "That's How It Feels" | 115 | 34 | — | |
| "Lucky Me" | 98 | 31 | — | |
| "To You with Love" | 107 | 36 | — | |
| 1972 | "Thanks a Lot" | — | 41 | — |
| "Just Because He Wants to Make Love (Doesn't Mean He Loves You)" | — | 25 | — | |
| "My Thing" | — | 19 | — | |
| 1973 | "Girl I'm Gonna Miss You" | — | — | — |
| "Gotta Find a Way" | 68 | 16 | — | |
| "Sexy Mama" | 17 | 3 | — | |
| 1974 | "Sho Nuff Boogie (Part 1)" (with Sylvia Sylvia Robinson Sylvia Robinson was an American singer, musician, record producer, and record label executive, most notably known for her work as founder/CEO of the hip hop label Sugar Hill Records. She is credited as the driving force behind two landmark singles in the genre... ) |
80 | 45 | — |
| "Sweet Sweet Lady" | — | 29 | — | |
| "What's Your Name" | — | 28 | — | |
| "Girls (Part 1)" (with the Whatnauts) | — | 25 | 3 | |
| 1975 | "Look at Me (I'm in Love) Look at Me (I'm in Love) "Look at Me " is a 1975 single by The Moments. In the United States, the single went to number one on the soul chart for one week and peaked at number thirty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100. According to the liner notes of The Moments' Greatest Hits album, the song's origins are in a conversation... " |
39 | 1 | 42 |
| "Got to Get to Know You" | — | — | — | |
| "Dolly My Love" | — | — | 10 | |
| 1976 | "Nine Times" | — | 44 | — |
| "With You" | — | 14 | — | |
| 1977 | "Jack in the Box | — | — | 7 |
| "We Don't Cry Out Loud" | — | 79 | — | |
| "I Don't Wanna Go" | — | 18 | — | |
| 1978 | "I Could Have Loved You" | — | 20 | — |
| "Rain in My Backyard" | — | — | — | |
| 1980 | "Baby Let's Rap Now (Part 1)" | — | 39 | — |
| 1981 | "Record Breakin' Love Affair" | — | — | — |
| "—" denotes the single failed to chart | ||||
Studio albums
| Year | Album | Chart positions | US certifications |
Record label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US R&B Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
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| 1979 | Ray, Goodman & Brown | 17 | 2 | Gold | Polydor Polydor Records Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone... |
| 1980 | Ray, Goodman & Brown II | 84 | 16 | — | |
| 1981 | Stay | 151 | 33 | — | |
| 1982 | Open Up | — | — | — | |
| 1984 | All About Love, Who's Gonna Make the First Move? | — | — | — | Panoramic |
| 1986 | Take It to the Limit | — | 24 | — | EMI America EMI America Records EMI America Records was started in 1978 by EMI as a second US label next to Capitol Records. It absorbed Liberty Records in 1984. In the late 1980s EMI America was consolidated with Manhattan Records to form EMI Manhattan Records, which later became known simply as EMI in 1990, then part of EMI... |
| 1988 | Mood for Lovin | — | 66 | — | Manhattan Manhattan Records Manhattan Records is a United States record label, owned by EMI and operates as a subsidiary of The Blue Note Label Group.-Company history:Manhattan Records was formed in 1984 by Bruce Lundvall, and was later renamed EMI Manhattan Records after absorbing EMI America Records imprint... |
| "—" denotes the album failed to chart or was not certified | |||||
Compilation albums
| Year | Album | Chart positions | Record label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US R&B Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
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| 1996 | The Best of Ray, Goodman & Brown | — | — | PolyGram PolyGram PolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:... |
|
| 2002 | The Millennium Collection: The Best of Ray, Goodman & Brown | — | — | Polydor Polydor Records Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone... |
|
| "—" denotes the album failed to chart | |||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US R&B Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
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| 1979 | "Special Lady Special Lady (Ray, Goodman & Brown song) "Special Lady" is a 1979 single by vocal trio Ray, Goodman & Brown, formerly known as The Moments. In the U.S., it was a number one R&B hit and reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100. The single marked their first release under the name Ray, Goodman & Brown. The song was written by Harry... " |
5 | 1 | |
| 1980 | "Inside of You" | 76 | 14 | |
| "My Prayer" | 47 | 31 | ||
| "Happy Anniversary" | — | 16 | ||
| 1981 | "Shoestrings" | — | 67 | |
| "How Can Love So Right (Be So Wrong)" | — | 30 | ||
| 1982 | "Stay" | — | — | |
| "Till the Right One Comes Along" | — | — | ||
| "Gambled on Your Love" | — | — | ||
| "After All" | — | — | ||
| 1984 | "Who's Gonna Make the First Move" | — | 61 | |
| 1986 | "Take It to the Limit" | — | 8 | |
| 1987 | "Celebrate Our Love" | — | 34 | |
| "(Baby) Let's Make Love Tonight" | — | — | ||
| 1988 | "Where Did You Get That Body, (Baby)?" | — | 61 | |
| "—" denotes the single failed to chart | ||||
External links
- Ray, Goodman & Brown official website
- The Moments at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Ray, Goodman & Brown at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- [ The Moments] at Allmusic
- The Moments at Wax PoeticsWax PoeticsWax Poetics is a bimonthly American music magazine dedicated to vintage and contemporary jazz, funk, soul, Latin, hip-hop, reggae, blues, and R&B in the crate-digger tradition; the name of the magazine is itself an allusion to vinyl records....
- Ray Goodman & Brown Yahoo group
- Ray Goodman & Brown discography at Discogs